Gotha Go P 35 and P 39 transport projects

Although the Gotha Go 242 glider and its motorized variant, the Go 242, are fairly well-known by German aviation enthusiasts, the P.35 and P.39 projects that derived from them are more obscure.

The two projects were both conceived as transport aircraft with increased bay area and good loading capacity, to be built with mixed material so as to reduce costs, and powered by Bramo 323 engines.

The twin-engine P.35 had a 3-ton capacity for a 1000-kilometer range, while the three-engine P.39 had a 4-ton capacity for a 1800-kilometer range. The P.35 was to be able to fly on one engine only when empty, while the P.39 was conceived to be flyable on one engine only even fully loaded.

Externally the two designs were quite different from the Go 242/244, despite their general similar layout. The P.39 was conceivably larger than the P.35.

Here is a set of official Gotha documents presenting the P.39 project:

1°) P39-100: Three-view arrangement
2°) P39-101: Three-view arrangement in silhouette form
3°) P39-108: Development of the P.39 (from the DFS 230 through the Go 242, Go 244 and P.35)
4°) P39-109: Comparison between the Go 244 and the P.39
5°) P39-110: Comparison between the Go 244 and the P.39 (continued)
6°) P39-145: Fuselage overview

On top of this I'm adding:

7°) A zoomed-in view of the P.35 silhouettes
8°) A cleaned-up profile view of the P.39

These drawings are from "LUFTFAHRT Monographie LS2", I think.
Althought this series of brochures/magazines isn't available anymore (or from the second hand market only),
I think, we should still mention the source, especially when posting relatively high res scans.

Sorry Jens, my mistake. I was going to (like I did in the Gotha Go 345 topic) and then forgot. Of course the source is the one you mentioned... and I took the liberty to offer such extensive scans because, indeed, the book is no longer available. Also please keep in mind that these are not hi-res versions, I shrunk them to make them web-compatible. The original scans were much bigger!

Striking similiarities with the Fairchild C-82/C-119 family...

Principally an enlarged Go 242/244 with more powerful engines (the Go 244 had proven
to be a failure so far). It was an attempt to create a true transport without losing the
structural simplicity of a attack glider.
BTW, the datasheet mentions for the P.39 the ability to fly with full weight after the loss
of an engine, not on just a single engine alone.

Stargazer2006 said:

.. the book is no longer available. Also please keep in mind that these are not hi-res versions,

Click to expand...

No, they aren't, but they are considerable larger than recommended for "fair use" (a kind of twilight zone
in itself, I think) and please remember, that although this series isn't there anymore, the publisher still is !
And there are too many lawyers around, writing too many adhortatory letters, trying to press every single
cent out of copy right infringements.
We don't have to wait for ACTA to get into trouble, so, please, if we don't want to have one day the picture
shown below on our screens (many of us will remember, that we already had ...) we should be careful with
postings of pictures. Perhaps we could add a token to the posting, when higher-res pictures are available,
something like "SPFHS" ? Could mean "Secret Projects Forum High Standard", but also "Send PM for high-res scans" ...

From "Der Flieger" February 1962, drawings showing the loading variations, landing procedures
(standard, without flare and short landing) and a 3-view.

Here is a drawing to P.35.




Secret Nazi Aircraft 1939 -1945 Luftwaffe's Advanced Aircraft Projects